Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 15 greatest pass rushers in franchise history

Even though Brad Culpepper didn’t begin his career as a member of the Buccaneers since the defensive end was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, there’s no question that his best years in the NFL came from the six years spent in Tampa Bay.

After limited action from 1992 to 1993 as a member of the Vikings, Culpepper would end up joining the Buccaneers for the 1994 season. The numbers alone will prove this was the best move for his career.

By combining for 19 tackles while only starting two games during those first two NFL seasons, it became clear pretty quick that Culpepper just wasn’t a great fit in Minnesota. Sometimes, a fresh start on a new team can be the best thing to happen to a player career-wise.

The fact that it took Culpepper until his third NFL season just to record a sack for the first time shows how great of a move it was to end up in Tampa Bay. Little did both parties know how this signing would turn out.

As impressive as it was to watch Culpepper finish with four sacks in each of his first two seasons with the Buccaneers, the three-year span from 1997 to 1999 where he finished with 23.5 sacks shows how great of a fit he was in Tampa Bay.

Finish his career with the Buccaneers certainly would have been great. Culpepper spent the 2000 NFL season as a member of the Chicago Bears, but at least the six years in Tampa Bay were quite memorable.